​​My thoughts on Road of No Return by K.A. Merikan and originality in writing. I remained vague on the details of the book as not to spoil anything for those who haven’t read it. And for those who have read it, it should be pretty clear what I’m talking about.

If I had to sum this book up in one word, it would be unique. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. But I must admit it is rare to come across a book in Romance I’d consider unique. Though I should probably explain, most of the time the Romance books I read take familiar components and reorder and alter them in a way that makes the story unique, but the components are familiar.

As I read this book, I found myself trying to compare it to other books and I felt like maybe I don’t read enough contemporary M/M because it had story problems that I can’t recall seeing in other books.​I think for some readers that will be enjoyable because it’s rare to find something in books that hasn’t been overdone. Others might not like it because for some the enjoyment is reading the same story told in different ways. While others might not mind difference, but might take issue with exactly what the difference is.

As a writer, I spend a fair bit of my time taking books apart. One side effect of this is I almost always know what to expect from a book. By the time I can state the main conflict I can usually say how the book will resolve itself. But with Road of No Return, even in its last pages, I couldn’t predict the ending.

​I read a later book by these authors first and while I enjoyed it thoroughly, I had no problem predicting how the book would end even halfway through. So I think it’s specific to this book.

Though I can’t help but wonder if maybe the resolution was just as obvious as it is in most books, but I ignored it because I couldn’t imagine the writers going there. There is a chance of that. Something this book made me realize is I write fluff. Even my darker stuff, which is admittedly pretty messed up, in its own strange way is fluff, with totally happy endings no matter how bad things were before and with the impact of trauma smoothed over.​So maybe my Shiny Happy People mindset wouldn’t let me go where I needed to in order to predict the end of this book. Either way, it was definitely a good read and I’d recommend it. I’d also recommend the other book I read by them, His Favorite Color is Blood.